Your New Entrepreneur’s Guide to Selling on Lazada, Qoo10, Carousell and Shopee

If you’re reading this, you are probably interested in starting your own e-commerce business in the Singapore market. Nonetheless, you wish to start on a smaller scale and cater mainly to Singaporeans for now. Today, we will go through the four biggest e-commerce platforms in Singapore - Lazada, Qoo10, Carousell and Shopee, to see how you can make full use of their platform to kickstart your business.

Did you know that to start selling on Lazada’s LazMall and Shopee Mall, you’ll need to have a registered company first? We can help you with that. Otherwise, read on to find out what else you need to do.

Why E-commerce?

E-commerce is a business model that is different from your usual retail stores. It allows individuals to sell goods and services over the Internet electronically, hence the name. For new entrepreneurs in Singapore, there are the four major e-platforms where you can list your products and grow your business.

If you’re still unsure of how to get started, check out our guide on how to set up your own East river can help you on your business journey. We offer incorporation services and help you with accounting matters, including finding a secretary and all that you need to get started.

How To Choose the Right Online Shipping Marketplaces?

For start-ups, we do not recommend that you dive right into the global players such as Shopify, Square or even Amazon. Keep in mind that these sites allow you to create your own online shopfront, while e-platforms let you list your products on an already existing marketplace with many other sellers.

Why Choose Marketplaces?

Platforms such as Lazada, Qoo10, Carousell and Shopee has a search feature that enables potential customers to search for the product they are looking for, cart out their item using the in-built cart feature, and finally, pay for the item with their choice of payment method provided by the platform.

In simpler terms, using a platform saves you a lot of time and energy from dealing with the technical stuff and logistics of e-commerce. You can simply ride on what the platform offers, and focus on improving your store.

Which Marketplace To Choose?

Well, this depends mainly on how big your business is and the scale of your business operations at the point in time. Before diving into the details, here is a simple guide to follow.

Carousell

How To Sell?

Selling on Carousell may be one of the easiest out of the four platforms.

For mobile app users:

1. Launch the app
2. Select the 'Sell' (the '+' icon)
3. Either take a photo of the item on the spot or select a photo from your gallery. You can take/choose up to 10 photos and arrange them how you want it.
4. Fill in all the required fields on the form
5. Select "List it!" at the end of the form

For Carousell Web users:

1. Select "Sell" at the top right-hand corner of the page
2. Select photos (Choose a regular sized picture, if it is too big you will be prompted to resize it).
3. Select the green "Save" button found on the photo preview box
4. Fill in all the required fields on the form
5. Select "List it!" at the end of the form

Cost of Hosting and Selling

If you’re a regular seller, hosting and selling on Carousell should not cost anything.

However, if you are opting for “Carousell for Business”, CarouBiz for short, you can try it out free for 30 days. After the trial period, you will need to sign up for a plan with Carousell.

Delivery Options

Let’s talk about regular sellers. You can choose to allow for meet-ups, delivery or delivery with Carousell Protection.

Meet-ups:
Meet your buyer at a convenient location at your own risk

Delivery:
Chat with your buyer for normal or registered mail

Delivery with Carousell Protection:
The buyer makes payment through Carousell, and you mail the item out following Carousell guidelines

Payment Options

1. Paynow
2. DBS Paylah
3. Cash on meet-up
4. Credit card (only for Carousell Protection)

Shopee  

How To Sell?

For mobile app users:

1. Go to Me page > My Shop > Add New Product
2. Either take a new photo or choose an existing photo from the “Photos button” (you can choose up to nine photos)
3. Fill in the product details such as Category, Price, Stock, Variation, Weight, Shipping Fee and Days to Ship.
4. Add hashtags to your product
5. Tap on "✓" (Android) or "Submit" (iOS) button.

For web users:

1. Click on Seller Centre > My Product > Add new product
2. Insert your product name
3. Insert all relevant product details
4. Choose which courier service you would like to use to ship this item
5. Save the product listing and publish

For detailed instructions, visit Shopee’s seller instructions page.

Cost of Hosting and Selling

Shopee charges a service fee to sellers, to keep the platform running and provide the services you need. Keep in mind that the service only applies to sellers who opt for the Coins Cashback and Free-Shipping Special programmes. You will be charged a percentage of the cost after a buyer places an order.

For more details: Shopee service fee.

Delivery Options

1. Seller pays for shipping
2. Ninja Van (home delivery)
3. Ninja Van (self-collection point)
4. J&T Express
5. Seller store pick up

Payment Options

1. ShopeePay
2. PayNow
3. Credit/Debit card
4. Credit card instalment

Qoo10

How To Sell?

1. Register as a seller on Qoo10.com
2. Qoo10 has its seller platform (Qoo10 Sales Manager (QSM))
3. Upload your products
4. Fill in all the required information
5. List your product

Cost of Hosting and Selling

There are no listing fees on Qoo10. However, seller fees include service fees, credit points and seller grades.

To sell on Qoo10, you must:

• Buy 1,000 Q-cash
• Be a Qoo10 member
• Submit identification documents (passport, bank statements, NRIC, email address etc)
• Provide business certification

Delivery Options

1. Qprime (with a minimum spend)
2. Qxpress (allows you to choose delivery slot)
3. Normal mail
4. Registered mail

Payment Options

1. Q*coin
2. Mastercard, Visa, Amex
3. UnionPay
4. eNETS
5. Grabpay
6. DBS Paylah
7. NETS QR
8. Wechat Pay
9. Qmoney
10. Paypal
11. Bank transfer
12. Rely
13. AXS
14. Alipay
15. Convenience store payment

Lazada  

How To Sell?

1. Create seller account
2. Add products through seller centre website or mobile app
3. Use the seller centre to manage products and join flash sales
4. Choose shipping options
5. Choose payment options

Cost of Hosting and Selling

There are 0% commission fees for marketplace sellers.

For LazMall sellers, you must be a brand owner, authorized distributor or retailer. You will need to pay commission fees to Lazada when a buyer completes a purchase from your store.

For more details, check out Lazada’s seller page.

Delivery Options

1. Express delivery (local)
2. Postal mail
3. Collection points
4. Standard delivery (local and Taobao)
5. Standard delivery (overseas, non-Taobao)

Payment Options

1. Credit/debit cards
2. Grabpay
3. Singtel Dash Visa
4. Lazada wallet
5. Instalment payment plans
6. DBS Paylah

Lazada does not accept overseas credit cards.

As with all businesses, you need to incorporate an e-commerce business as well. We highly recommend that you do, if you’re planning to sell on Shopee, Lazada or Qoo10. This will not only boost your credibility for buyers but also allows you to take part in more selling options offered by the e-platforms.

East river helps both local and foreign businesses incorporate their company. We manage your formation online and guide you through the entire process without you having to break a sweat. We also offer accounting services for e-commerce businesses, helping with reporting and tax filing, no matter which platform you are on!